The present invention relates to fibrous crystal aggregates for efficiently adsorbing and solidifying oil flowing into rivers, lakes, marshes or the ocean; to a method of preparing the same; to the use thereof as an agent for recovering the flowing oil; and to a method of solidifying and recovering the flowing oil by using the recovering material.
Further, the present invention relates to a liquid hydrocarbon-solidifying material for efficiently solidifying liquid hydrocarbon, to a method of preparing the same, and to a method of solidifying liquid hydrocarbon by using the solidifying material.
Further, the present invention relates to a solidifying material for efficiently adsorbing and solidifying waste tempura oil discharged mainly after cooking in home, production of foods, sale, and business activity; and to a method of solidifying and recovering waste tempura oil by using the recovering material.
Further, the present invention relates to an edible oil-solidifying material for efficiently solidifying edible oil, to a method of preparing the same, and a method of solidifying edible oil by using the solidifying material.
As the scale of petrochemical industry is enlarging year by year and mass production and mass consumption of organic compounds are conducted for organic compound, environmental pollution and accidents threatening the existence of human beings and living things, such as pollution in rivers, lakes, marshes and sea, fires and explosions attributable to accidents in various chemical factories, petrochemical complexes and tankers, occur frequently worldwide. Accordingly, safe handling of organic compounds including petrochemical materials, and suitable handling during transportation, during storage or after accidents is a critical problem.
One of the fundamental measure against such pollution and accidents is to prevent the accidents themselves by designing an apparatus capable of safe reactions, storage or transportation. The next best measure is to conduct suitable handling immediately after the accidents.
When the surface of the water is polluted by an accident in a chemical factory, a petrochemical complex or a tanker, one of the following two methods has been used in many cases: in one method, the pollutants are left as they are until they are naturally evaporated, diluted or degraded: and in the other method, the pollutants are forcibly diluted by spraying a large amount of surfactants or the like. However, the environment is inevitably adversely affected for a long or short period of time, so it cannot be said that both the methods are satisfactory. In an alternative method, flowing oil is enclosed with an oil fence and scooped up together with polluted seawater by an oil-recovering ship, then the oil is separated from seawater by using a difference in density, and the seawater is returned to the sea. However, this method is poor in efficiency, resulting in permitting a majority of the flowing oil to spread and failing to recover it completely, thus allowing the pollutants to be left as they are.
Degradation of flowing oil by microorganisms living in seawater is also attempted, but this attempt is at the experimental stage and far from being practical.
In consideration of these circumstances, there is demand for development of a technique by which oil flowing into rivers, lakes, marshes or the sea is rapidly adsorbed and recovered as it is if possible.
The requirements for a material for adsorbing oil flowing into the sea include: (1) the adsorbing material can act with its functions not deteriorated by salts in seawater, and can be easily recovered together with oil, and the recovered adsorbing material is usable through recycling, (2) the adsorbing material is chemically relatively stable, and (3) the adsorbing material is supposed to be used in a large amount, and should thus be a safe and nontoxic substance, and even if the material flows into the ocean and hardly recovered, the material itself is least dangerous to living things in the ocean and to the environment.
Further, when oil flows into fresh water or hard water in rivers, lakes, marshes and the like, it is necessary that the adsorbing agent (adsorbent) can act efficiently without being influenced by the type and concentration of ions contained in the water, thus functioning in the same manner as in seawater.
It is hard to say that such physicochemical adsorbing materials including those commercially available as gelling agents are sufficiently practically usable, since they are very poor in efficiency.
Further, one of fundamental measures against accidents such as the above-described explosions, fires, leakage and the like, is that a large amount of liquid hydrocarbon and mixtures thereof handled in various chemical factories, petrochemical complexes and tankers are converted into safe solids and returned if necessary to the original liquid ones. By conversion thereof into safe solids easy to handle, it is thought that many accidents would be prevented, while huge and often dangerous storage facilities, pipelines, trucking, freezing, thermally insulating facilities and the like could be significantly modified.
In consideration of these aspects, there is demand for development of a method wherein a wide variety of hydrocarbon and mixed oil handled in various chemical factories, petrochemical complexes and tankers are solidified and converted easily into safe forms and returned if necessary to the original liquid hydrocarbon.
The requirements for a material for solidifying liquid hydrocarbon include (1) liquid hydrocarbon can be solidified easily at room temperatures without damaging reaction units in a factory, and from the solidified complex, the original liquid hydrocarbon can be easily recovered, and further the recovered solidifying material is usable through recycling, (2) the solidifying material is chemically relatively stable, and (3) the solidifying material is supposed to be used in a large amount, and should thus be a safe and nontoxic substance, and even if the material flows outside of the reaction unit and hardly recovered, the material itself is least dangerous to living things in the environment and to the environment.
Such physicochemical adsorbing materials are still not put to practical use, and there are few proposals including those at the experimental stage.
Besides, as our eating habits in home become rich and food industries become prosperous, a large amount of waste tempura oil is discharged into sewage and the like, which raises a social problem as a cause of environmental pollution.
Materials for physicochemically adsorbing waste tempura oil have been commercially available, but are still not satisfactory, because troublesome and dangerous heating for solidification is necessary, the solidifying materials themselves have a problem in safety, and a large amount of solidifying materials is needed in comparison with waste tempura oil.
On the other hand, a wide variety of edible oil has come to be used to enrich our life. A wide variety of edible oils which differs in characteristics such as nutritive value, flavor, feeling in eating and the like have been produced, but the field of application as food is restricted and narrowed by the oils being liquid. It is estimated that if edible oil can be solidified or gelled with maintaining their original characteristics, their value in practical use can be significantly improved.
Such satisfactory materials for physicochemical solidification are still not known.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide novel fibrous crystal aggregates usable as an absorbing material for oils satisfying the requirements described above. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of preparing the fibrous crystal aggregates from a metal carboxylate. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of efficiently recovering oils flowing into rivers, lakes, marshes or the ocean by physicochemical adsorption.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a material for solidifying liquid hydrocarbon, which satisfies the requirements described above. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of preparing the material for solidifying liquid hydrocarbon. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method of solidifying liquid hydrocarbons efficiently by a physicochemical method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a solidifying material which can, in a small amount, solidify waste tempura oils, at room temperature, safely and easily, in easy procedures. A still other object of the present invention is to provide a method of solidifying waste tempura oil easily at ordinary temperature.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an edible oil-solidifying material which can, in a small amount, solidify edible oil at room temperature to about xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C., safely and easily, in easy procedures. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method of preparing the edible oil-solidifying material. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method of solidifying edible oil easily.
Other and further objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.